Biohazard Cleanup Near South Jackson Jackson, GA

Jackson is a city in central Georgia and the county seat of Butts County — not to be confused with Jackson, Mississippi — and it lies within the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan area.

Jackson was founded in 1826 as the first town in the new county, on a 303-acre plot that was divided into squares and lots, and it became the county seat.

The community was named after James Jackson, a former governor of Georgia.

Butts County itself was created on December 24, 1825, from portions of Henry and Monroe counties and named for Captain Samuel Butts, an officer killed in the Creek War in 1814.

Much of Jackson was razed by General William T. Sherman's army during the March to the Sea in the Civil War.

Jackson remained little more than a small village until the railroad age: the first train arrived on May 5, 1882, heralding a new era in the movement of people and goods.

The population of Jackson was 5,557 at the 2020 census, up from 5,045 in 2010 and just 3,934 in 2000.

Census Bureau QuickFacts figures for 2020–2024 count about 1,995 households in Jackson, averaging 2.67 persons per household.

Downtown Jackson famously doubles as downtown Hawkins, Indiana, in the Netflix series Stranger Things: the Butts County Probate Court building stands in for the Hawkins Public Library, and a Second Street storefront plays Melvald's General Store.

The old mill village of Pepperton was merged into Jackson in 1966, leaving Butts County with just three incorporated cities.